International cricket match referee, Devdas Govindjee shares his travel experience to Zimbabwe with all the blog readers. Dev was recently in the African country for 4 one day international cricket matches between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. I was joking with Dev, that he has in fact become a travel correspondent for this blog.I am so blessed to be acquainted with such a wonderful human being who loves to impart and share his knowledge and experiences with the rest of the world. Read on to find out more in his words.
Bulawayo Zimbabwe Wed 23.07.2014
Greetings on another beautiful morning in Southern Africa – it amazes me that I have been in this city for over a week already and that I only have two more days here before the flight back to PE via Johannesburg.
I had trouble getting my previous update through so this time I am not taking any chances so have opted to send this as an attachment in the hope that it shall be read with the same enthusiasm as all previous mails sent out.
Let’s dispense with the cricket part of the trip so far- after all that is the main purpose of my being here in Zimbabwe.
The 1st of 4 One Day Internationals (ODI”s) took place last Thursday with the 2nd one on Sat and yesterday the 3rd was played – all at the historic Queens Sports Club.
Zimbabwe had comfortable wins in the first two match but Afghanistan came back with a vengeance yesterday to record a pulsating win chasing down the required 267 with the 2nd last ball of the match which was hit for a 6 with only one more batsman left to bat.
It was a significant win as one has to bear in mind Zimbabwe has Test playing status whilst Afghanistan are part of what is referred to as an Associate playing nation. Both teams will play in the World Cup in Feb next year which is jointly being hosted by Australia & NZ.
Afghanistan do have ODI status in World Cricket so these matches are fully fledged Internationals.
With the series now still wide open and Afghanistan with an opportunity to level matters, the final ODI tomorrow takes on new significance.
Trust you have survived all of that!
The trip to Zimbabwe has been totally different than my normal cricketing trips- I did mention that I have close family here as well as friends – this has resulted in a flood of invitations to join families for meals or snacks etc – in between all of that and during the free days ( as matches were played on alternate days) Johan Cloete ( my friend and umpire from SA) and I have frequented every coffee shop and most of the restaurants in this city- the close proximity of most places to our hotel makes this possible and where necessary the designated transport has always been there for our convenience- they have however hardly been called into duty because of all the trips we have made with the family members.
Today we are using our transport (with the appointed liaison and security officer) and leave at 9 this morning for Matopos – this is about 30 km away and has much significance for any South African who has an interest in History like I do- it is the final resting place for Cecil John Rhodes who we all know played a significant role in
Southern Africa- his Cape to Cairo vision was a colonial expansionist dream an in the process he not only made contributions in road and rail links but left a lasting legacy in the field of education where even today the now Rhodes-Mandela scholarship is a prestigious one which only the very best of students receive.
Looking forward to visiting Matopos as the rock formations in the region have been well documented over the ages.
Naturally I am excited by the photo opportunities the trip to Matopos shall present and shall use my fb pages to display.
On Monday Johan and I played a round of golf at the Bulawayo Golf Club- the Zim Cricket Union kindly planned this for us- I have not played in a long time so it was a timely reminder that I should get back onto the golf course- not so much for the playing but more for the wonderful opportunity it affords the casual golfer of just walking along the fairways and taking in such healthy fresh air in open countryside. The body did of course take a bit of a beating and required much rest to regain normal functions!
Bulawayo is just so quiet and devoid of traffic and congestion and everything else thjat we normally associate with major African cities – this made the daily presence of our two BMW police cars and the manner in which they blared their sirens and blocked off poor startled pedestrians and the slow driving local commuters was so amusing- but protocol had to be observed and three minutes later we would in any case reach our destination either way!
Until my next update from PE – or it might be from Zambia – I remain
As always
Just Dev
My nephew Dash Vaghmaria played for Matabeleland and Zim B - great to see this pic in the clubhouse at Queens with two legends of the game Wasim Akram & Waqar Younis of Pakistan — in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Bulawayo Zimbabwe Wed 23.07.2014
Greetings on another beautiful morning in Southern Africa – it amazes me that I have been in this city for over a week already and that I only have two more days here before the flight back to PE via Johannesburg.
I had trouble getting my previous update through so this time I am not taking any chances so have opted to send this as an attachment in the hope that it shall be read with the same enthusiasm as all previous mails sent out.
Let’s dispense with the cricket part of the trip so far- after all that is the main purpose of my being here in Zimbabwe.
The 1st of 4 One Day Internationals (ODI”s) took place last Thursday with the 2nd one on Sat and yesterday the 3rd was played – all at the historic Queens Sports Club.
Zimbabwe had comfortable wins in the first two match but Afghanistan came back with a vengeance yesterday to record a pulsating win chasing down the required 267 with the 2nd last ball of the match which was hit for a 6 with only one more batsman left to bat.
It was a significant win as one has to bear in mind Zimbabwe has Test playing status whilst Afghanistan are part of what is referred to as an Associate playing nation. Both teams will play in the World Cup in Feb next year which is jointly being hosted by Australia & NZ.
Afghanistan do have ODI status in World Cricket so these matches are fully fledged Internationals.
With the series now still wide open and Afghanistan with an opportunity to level matters, the final ODI tomorrow takes on new significance.
Trust you have survived all of that!
The trip to Zimbabwe has been totally different than my normal cricketing trips- I did mention that I have close family here as well as friends – this has resulted in a flood of invitations to join families for meals or snacks etc – in between all of that and during the free days ( as matches were played on alternate days) Johan Cloete ( my friend and umpire from SA) and I have frequented every coffee shop and most of the restaurants in this city- the close proximity of most places to our hotel makes this possible and where necessary the designated transport has always been there for our convenience- they have however hardly been called into duty because of all the trips we have made with the family members.
Today we are using our transport (with the appointed liaison and security officer) and leave at 9 this morning for Matopos – this is about 30 km away and has much significance for any South African who has an interest in History like I do- it is the final resting place for Cecil John Rhodes who we all know played a significant role in
Southern Africa- his Cape to Cairo vision was a colonial expansionist dream an in the process he not only made contributions in road and rail links but left a lasting legacy in the field of education where even today the now Rhodes-Mandela scholarship is a prestigious one which only the very best of students receive.
Looking forward to visiting Matopos as the rock formations in the region have been well documented over the ages.
Naturally I am excited by the photo opportunities the trip to Matopos shall present and shall use my fb pages to display.
On Monday Johan and I played a round of golf at the Bulawayo Golf Club- the Zim Cricket Union kindly planned this for us- I have not played in a long time so it was a timely reminder that I should get back onto the golf course- not so much for the playing but more for the wonderful opportunity it affords the casual golfer of just walking along the fairways and taking in such healthy fresh air in open countryside. The body did of course take a bit of a beating and required much rest to regain normal functions!
Bulawayo is just so quiet and devoid of traffic and congestion and everything else thjat we normally associate with major African cities – this made the daily presence of our two BMW police cars and the manner in which they blared their sirens and blocked off poor startled pedestrians and the slow driving local commuters was so amusing- but protocol had to be observed and three minutes later we would in any case reach our destination either way!
Until my next update from PE – or it might be from Zambia – I remain
As always
Just Dev
Bond Nyaota & Gary Nyumbu (ZCU) were on hand to meet Johan Cloete and myself at the newly revamped airport in Bulawayo upon our arrival yesterday at noon.— in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Nesbitt castle - charming and enchanting
Nesbitt castle - charming and enchanting
Unusual street lamps seem to be curtsying to the impressive bronze statue of "Father Zimbabwe" Joshua Nkomo in downtown Bulawayo. — in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Well Cecil John Rhodes did have a vision of the CtoC - the Cape to Cairo route - at this point it shows the distance to Cairo - this was spotted on our way to the hotel. — in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Well Cecil John Rhodes did have a vision of the CtoC - the Cape to Cairo route - at this point it shows the distance to Cairo - this was spotted on our way to the hotel. — in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
My nephew Dash Vaghmaria played for Matabeleland and Zim B - great to see this pic in the clubhouse at Queens with two legends of the game Wasim Akram & Waqar Younis of Pakistan — in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Sikandar Raza receiving the Man of the Match award at the post match presentations. — at Bulawayo Golf Club.
